A student publicAtion of Mount MichAel benedictine school, 22520 Mount MichAel RoAd elkhoRn, ne 68022

VoluMe 16 issue 1

THE MOUNTmount michael benedictine school 22520 mount michael road elkhorn, ne 68022 Volume 16 issue 1

the gallons are back! Read more on page 3

Green day returns to the music scene, page 8

new coaching helps fuel competitive spirt, page 7

kevin Jewell | Staff Writer

mount michael Wins national blue ribbon award “it’s like a validation,” said head of school dr. david Peters about mount michael winning the united states department of education blue ribbon award. the award was announced on september 7th. the award, which recognizes outstanding performance in private schools, is a prize, but it more closely feels like a “validation” for all the work that has been done over the last 42 years at mount michael. the blue ribbon program has given out awards to over 7,000 schools since 1982. With the achievement of this award, mount michael enters a select group of less than 4% of the nation’s schools. st. cecilia’s cathedral Grade school won this award in 1986 while dr. Peter’s was teaching there. more recently, Peters applied for the award as principal at st. stephen the martyr in 2008. When Peters became head of school last year, he instantly knew that he wanted to give mount michael the validation that it deserved and that the blue ribbon award was a great way to do this. however, settling into his new

role has principal made it harder for him to know enough about mount michael. Fortunately, he was able to enlist the help of more experienced staff members including english teacher eileen sullivan, administrative assistant Gail raabe, and guidance counselor Fr. stephen Plank o.s.b. over a six month period, Peters put over 40 hours into the project. sullivan also invested a large amount of time. she had to balance proofreading applications and grading all of her classes’ finals. even though the process took a lot of time, sullivan says the application was “flawless.” When the final draft was sent, Peters received a reply message saying that a record number of applicants had applied. “i was worried about our chances with a record number, but at the same time i knew that our application was good. it was just a matter of beating out the other schools,” said Peters. the award means more than just a plaque and a title. the school hopes Dr. Peters breaks the news about the Blue Ribbon Award to the students, faculty, and monastic

community in the gym.

Photo courtesy of Br. Luke

(Story Continued on Page 2)

mount michael place great importance on encouraging students to grow in their personal faith and spirituality. the mount michael campus ministry program was started to help get students involved in mass, service opportunities, and faith oriented activities around campus. this year, under the guidance of Fr. Gregory congote, o.s.b., campus ministry, students are taking leadership roles.”i wanted to get more students involved in campus ministry because it is for them. as christians they need to participate actively, fruitfully, and consciously in their faith,” congote said. the majority of the campus ministry jobs take place within the celebration of the eucharist. senior Vinny harvey was chosen by congote from a group of volunteers to be the liturgy Planning assistant. harvey makes sure that there are enough ministers

congote brings change to campus ministry Program

Freshaman Muxuan (Tony) Tang plays the piano for all-school mass.photo courtesy of Fr. Gregorio

of communion for the eucharistic celebrations. he also emails and posts in advance the names of the ministers for mass. Finally he helps decide who the lectors for mass will be. “i took responsibility because i wanted

to partake in the celebration of the eucharist and be able to grow closer to God,” said harvey. seniors cory keegan and Josh rauterkus also help out with mass by greeting students and staff, handing out the hymnals at the entrance of the chapel, and organizing the students in lines as they go to communion. “i joined campus ministry because

i want to help Fr. Gregorio with mass and to grow deeper in my faith along with all my classmates,” said keegan. every monday morning, students gather in the chapel ten minutes before class and share in reflection and weekly news. senior connor moynihan assists mount michael

peter deWald | Editor

(Story continued on page 3)

2 THE MOUNT

News

Mi Casa Es Su Casa:Foreign Student Brings Native Culture to Mount Michael

Capital Campaign Kicks Off With New Water Treatment Facility

Matt Okelabo | Staff Writer

Diego Buerreta Ochoa (above) poses for a quick photo during Wednesday Night Vistis.

photo courtesy of Br. Luke

Blue Ribbonthe Blue Ribbon award will help with enrollment. “I hope that prospective parents will see it as another reason to send their children here,” said Peters. Sullivan believes that it will also help out with the capital campaign. “We have great teachers and great students, and I hope that this award will be another sign of improvement,” said Sullivan. Overall, Peters and Sullivan say that standardized test scores, (an ACT average of 27.9) helped to win the award. Now that the school is recognized, it is just a matter of continuing the tradition of hard work. The award has also opened more eyes to the school’s success.“Being here and going through the process just made me find the school that much more amazing,” said Peters. In the past couple of days, Mount Michael has received letters of congratulations from Senator Ben Nelson, the Archbishop of Omaha George Lucas, the President Dr. Karen Ristau of the National Catholic Educational Association and Mayor of Omaha Jim Suttle. In his letter Suttle said, “Even though this national recognition is based on evidence from test scores and student achievement, I know that when it comes to character, integrity, and dedication to the community that the student body at Mount Michael sets the bar mighty high.” Whether the award was won in 1970 or in 2012, it recognizes the consistent and hard work of Mount Michael students and staff that will improve the already tremendous reputation of the school.

photo courtesy of Br. LukeDr. Peters and Abbot Michael witness the groundbreaking on the new Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Mount Michael is currently in the middle of a forty million dollar capital campaign. Halfway through the primary phase of the campaign, work has begun on the first project: the waste water treatment facility. This new treatment plant will be on the south side of campus by the development office, on the site of the old facility. Construction on the plant, by Mecco Henne Construction Company began during the summer and is set to be completed in May of 2013. The new waste-water treatment facility might not seem like an exciting first step, but it is definitely a necessary one. The current facility has been around since the founding of the monastery in 1956. At over 50 years old, it is the only one of its kind still in operation in the United States. As one might imagine, a facility that old doesn’t run efficiently and the new plant will be more practical and cost effective. In addition to that, Mount Michael Maintenance Director Jim Lewis said, “The new waste water treatment plant will meet new regulations set forth by the state and federal government.” The possibility of tying into the Omaha Sewer System was looked into, but Lewis said, “I believe the building of our own facility will be more cost effective at this time.” The new waste water treatment facility will be a Sequencing Batch Reactor, or SBR system. There are five stages that water must go through in an SBR system: fill, react, settle, decant, and idle. During the filling stage, a valve opens and the water fills the tank as mechanical arms mix the water. Next, during the reaction stage, the mixed liquid is aerated and the oxygen reacts with the waste water. After this, settling occurs; this means the solids suspended in the water now sink to the bottom of the tank. When the

solids, or “sludge” have settled, an outlet valve is opened allowing the water to flow out of the tank. Finally, the water idles for a short period of time before being sent downstream. This new treatment facility is a first step towards a great deal of progress for Mount

Michael. The Now Is the Time Campaign sees continued success. Many other improvements are sure to follow shortly after the completion of the new waste water treatment facility. The community can look forward to a wonderful Mount Michael for years to come.

Jacob Eyth | Editor

Every year Mount Michael strives to reach out to the international community and joyfully embraces new students. This year Mount Michael has enrolled twenty-six international students; among these students, eleven are new to the Mount Michael community. One of the new additions to Mount Michael is junior Diego Buerreta Ochoa. Ochoa is from Culiacan, Mexico. Culiacan is in northwestern Mexico, the largest city in the state of Sinaloa as well as its capital. Ochoa’s search for a new school started when he and his family started looking for high ranking high schools in the United States with a prestigious curriculum. Mount Michael was a great fit and attracted Ochoa because he was looking for a new experience and a good opportunity to improve his English. He is happy to be at Mount Michael and is glad to have joined the community. Although Ochoa enjoys being at Mount Michael he misses some aspects of his hometown. Some of the differences between Mexico and Mount Michael include the language, the culture, the

food, and the school schedule. He says that although the food here is great, it is no where near as good as the Mexican food he enjoys at home.

The school schedule also varies in Mexico. Ochoa’s school day in Mexico consisted of five classes, each an hour and a half long. Another difference between schooling in Mexico and Mount Michael is that Ochoa did not have lunches, but instead had two breaks a day to do whatever he wanted. Although some of the differences may be difficult, Ochoa says that he loves the classes, especially Physics, Literature, and Pre-Calculus. Ochoa is also an avid fan of basketball. He loves the Lakers and he hopes they will win the NBA Championship this year. As a fan of the Lakers, Ochoa naturally does not like certain teams like the Miami Heat. “I hate Chris Bosh, he’s so bad. The Lakers are going to win this season, that’s for sure,” said Ochoa. He also plays basketball and spends about three hours a day in the gym getting ready for the basketball season. Mount Michael is starting to feel like home for Ochoa. “So far it has been one of the best experiences in my life. I like everything so far about Mount Michael including the classes, sports, and how the students and teachers treat the international students. It’s been really cool thus far.”

THE MOUNT Staff

Peter Dewald I Editor-in-Chief

Jacob Eyth I News Editor

Vinny Harvey I Features Editor

Jackson Taylor I Sports Editor

Mike Budler I Entertainment Editor

Grant Ramm I Head Staff Writer

Jimmy Steier I Copy Editor

Yoonho Kim I Head Photographer

David Bastian I Cartoonist

Kevin Jewell, Matt Okalebo Elliot Prusa and Randy Speer I Graphic Designers

Jake Recker, Benet Kinghorn Yunsik Oh, Cooper WIlson, Brian Kim and Colin Svoboda I Staff Writers

GIna Fosco I Advisor The Mount is a monthly publication of the students at Mount MIchael Benedictine. Our goal is to provide an accurate and informative news source for the student body. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the entire school.

Fill

React

Settle

Decant

Idle

This is the sequence the new facility will use to cleam water before sending it downriver.

photo courtesy of getty images

continued from page 1